Whumptober 2019- Stay With Me
by Frankie McStein
Summary: At first, when Magnum started calling out, they thought it was the Korengal he was dreaming of. But then he started begging for 'her'.


Rick and T.C. were struggling to give Katsumoto their full attention. He didn't blame them. Getting a phone call telling them Magnum and Higgins had been attacked, that they were both in the hospital, that they needed to get down there ASAP, was never going to be conducive to a conversation. But Magnum was still unconscious and Kumu was in with Higgins, so Katsumoto had seized the opportunity.

"We've got the footage from the security cameras uploaded to HPD's servers." He pulled out a tablet. "Higgins couldn't identify them. We're going to take some stills and release them to the public. If nothing else, we're hoping to make Oahu too hot for them, and we can catch them when they try to leave. But that's going to take time, and I want to find the men responsible for this."

"What do you want us to do?"

"Watch the video. Pay attention to their faces, and tell me if anyone looks even remotely familiar." Katsumoto flipped the tablet as the two men nodded, the security footage already on the screen.

Rick took it, tilting it so T.C. could see too, and tapped play. They watched in silence as Magnum and Higgins walked into the frame. There was no sound, but they could see the pair were discussing something. They both looked close to laughter. Magnum's head turned slightly, and he suddenly reached out, shoving Higgins hard. As she stumbled to the side and fell, landing out of the camera's view, a blue car drove into the shot and plowed into Magnum, catching his legs as he tried to dive out of the way. He went crashing to the ground and lay still.

Higgins appeared, running toward Magnum only to be grabbed by a man nearly a foot taller than she. It seemed like he had been waiting somewhere out of sight. He ran up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her off her feet. She threw an elbow back hard; it was clear from the way the man staggered she had put a fair amount of energy into the blow. The man didn't let go of her, but he did bend slightly, trying to alleviate the pain. As soon as her feet were on the ground, Higgins surged upward and threw her head back. This time she was released as the man lifted his hands to his nose.

T.C. grinned, a cold, vicious look in his eyes as he noted the blood streaming down the man's face. The whole encounter hadn't taken more than a few seconds, but it had been long enough for the driver of the car and his passenger to get out and head around to where Magnum was still sprawled on the ground, seemingly trying to get his arms to support his weight.

Higgins started toward them. Her lips moved, and both Rick and T.C. wondered what she had yelled at the two men. Whatever it was, it seemed to shake them. While the driver continued over to Magnum, pulling out what looked like a stun baton, the passenger turned to face Higgins with a grim smile. He said something, the look on his face making it clear it was an insult, before taking a swing. Higgins ducked the blow and stepped forward as she did, coming up inside the man's reach. He tried to step back to adjust, but she was too fast. She drove the heel of her palm into his chin, snapping his head back and sending him staggering a few steps. She followed him, easily blocking the punches he tried to throw.

But the big man was headed toward her now. It was all Rick could do not to yell at her image to turn around. From the way T.C. was tensing up next to him, he knew his friend felt the same.

This time, the man wrapped one thick arm around Higgins' chest and the other around her throat. As the two watched in horror, Higgins was forced to drop her guard to try to loosen the arm that was crushing her windpipe. The shorter man took advantage and sank his fist into her stomach before landing a jab to her right cheek and another to her left. He hit her again, catching her low on her jaw. He stepped back with a smirk and watched as Higgins clawed at the arm holding her, unable to keep the pain off her bloodied face. He said something, mouth moving rapidly, and the bigger man nodded before leaning back slightly, pulling Higgins' feet off the ground, using her own body weight as a weapon as she hung in the air, suspended by his arm around her neck.

From their training, Rick and T.C. knew how easy it was to crush a person's windpipe, how easy it would be for this gorilla of a man to kill Higgins. They watched, fury burning through them, as she struggled, her movements rapidly getting weaker. When she finally blacked out, the man gave her limp body a vicious shake before letting her go, sending her falling to the ground. The other man shifted slightly, and they realized he had spit on her. Then he turned and walked over to where the driver was still standing, Magnum sprawled at his feet with the tip of the stun baton pressing against his back.

The gorilla stayed where he was to deliver a vicious kick to Higgins' side, hard enough to roll her over. He seemed delighted, appearing to laugh before doing it again. When she was on her stomach again, he lifted his foot a third time, but this time, instead of kicking out, he stamped down on her back. Then he sauntered over to join the other two men.

The driver had lifted the stun baton away from Magnum and appeared to be trying to talk to him, but that didn't last long. He stepped back, and the other two attacked the fallen man, kicking at him again and again, as Magnum pulled himself into as small as ball as he could manage, trying to protect himself. And then the three men simply got into the car and drove off, leaving Magnum and Higgins unconscious behind them. The whole thing took less than five minutes.

Rick's hand shook slightly as he handed the tablet back to Katsumoto. "I didn't recognize any of them." His voice was tight, thick with anger.

T.C. simply shook his head as Katsumoto looked at him, not trusting himself to speak.

"All right." The detective shook his head. "It was worth a shot. I'll try to keep you informed as much as I can." As he left, the door to Higgins' room opened and Kumu stepped out. She looked angry and upset, and the two men were quick to lead her over to a chair.

"How's our girl doing?" T.C. asked, still shocked by the brutality of the attack he had just watched.

Kumu gave a sigh and shook her head. "She's in a lot of pain that they can't give her anything for; she took a hard knock to the head at some point. And she's blaming herself for Thomas getting hurt." She gave them both a stern look as they opened their mouths to protest that it wasn't Higgins' fault. "I know. I'm sure she'll realize once she's had time to properly work through what happened that she's not to blame. But, right now, she feels responsible. And I think she's scared you'll both blame her too."

The two men both started talking over each other, insisting they would never blame Higgins.

Kumu silenced them both with a raised hand. "A word of advice? Take that anger I can see on your faces and put it away before you go in there. Or she'll think it's directed at her, and I'm not sure she can handle that right now." She looked deadly serious, and Rick and T.C. exchanged an almost sheepish look.

"Thanks, Kumu," Rick said finally, after a few moments' silence. "We'll make sure she knows we're not blaming her."

The room was silent when they walked in, no machines beeping or clicking. Higgins watched them as they crossed to her bedside without saying a word. Whether it was because of Kumu's warning or not, both men thought they could see a wariness on her face.

"How you doing, Higgy Baby?" T.C. made sure the emotion in his voice was the concern he was feeling and was rewarded with a small smile.

"Awfully," came the quiet response. And then, after an uncharacteristic moment of hesitation, "How's Magnum?" She was trying to sound casual, but she missed the mark, instead sounding scared.

"He still hasn't woken up." Rick took one of her hands in his and frowned at the chill that was clinging to her skin. "But you know Thomas. He's hard-headed and stubborn." He forced a smile on his face and T.C. followed suit, but Higgins looked away, as if she couldn't bring herself to meet their gazes.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, her voice barely more than a whisper.

The two men shared a look before T.C. asked, as gently as he could, "Sorry for what, Higgy?"

"I tried so hard to get to him." She turned her head to face them again, so they saw the exact moment her resolve faltered and the facade she was trying so hard to maintain crumbled. Tears fell from her eyes, and her voice failed, whatever she was trying to say trailing away into nothing but a breath that hitched in her throat.

Rick dropped her hand in favor of wrapping his arms gently around her and carefully pulling her close, whispering, "We know you fought, Jules. We would never doubt it."

T.C. leaned forward and wrapped his arms around them both, and they stayed like that for several long minutes as Higgins slowly calmed down. The moment she tried to pull back, the two men let go and each took a step away from the bed, giving her space.

She accepted the box of tissues Rick handed her with a small smile of thanks. "Sorry," she said, still smiling a little as if trying to assure them she was okay. "I just…"

"You're just worried and in pain. And concussed." Rick grinned at her small huff of laughter. "You're fine."

Rick's words and T.C.'s nod of agreement seemed to ease some of the tension that was still apparent in her. They stayed for a while, talking quietly and theorizing over the identity of the three men, before Higgins told them to go and sit with Magnum.

"When he wakes up he's going to be disoriented. He'll need familiar faces around him." The two couldn't argue with that, and when Higgins went on to say she was feeling tired and dizzy they quickly said their goodbyes and headed down the corridor to Magnum's room.

They heard him muttering as they walked in and hurried over to opposite sides of the bed, each reaching for the nearest shoulder.

"Tommy? How you feelin'?"

There was no answer, but Magnum's head shifted on the pillow as if searching for something despite his tightly closed eyes. His fingers were twitching, pulling themselves tighter and tighter, and his lips were moving.

"Stop." It was so quiet Rick leaned in closer, tipping his head so his ear was close to Magnum. "Sto… stop."

Rick glanced up to see T.C. had heard too. They gave each other resigned looks; Magnum had suffered with nightmares and flashbacks for the duration of their stay in hospital after they had escaped. Something about the way his body reacted to certain painkillers seemed to make the visions and images worse for him- there was meant to be a note on his medical records to the effect of such and such family of drugs are not to be administered- and it was always a fight to bring him back to reality.

"C'mon, Thomas." Rick kept his voice quiet but spoke firmly. "You know you just need to wake up, right? So open your eyes."

"It's real easy, buddy," T.C. chimed in. "All you need to do is come back to us."

It usually took a painfully long time for Magnum to be able to wake himself up, so they both blinked in surprise as his eyes flew open.

"Hey there! That was easy." But the smile quickly fell off Rick's face.

Magnum looked dazed, like he wasn't seeing what was actually in front of him. "Ple...Please." His eyes were fixed on T.C., but it was painfully obvious he wasn't seeing his friend.

"No. You can't." His voice was getting strong, louder, more frantic. But his eyes were still dull and glazed over.

T.C was trying to talk to him, to reassure him that no one was in danger. "Come on, brother," he said quietly, months of practice having taught them all that quiet voices worked best. "The Korengal is gone. Our guys burned it down." But he wasn't getting through to Magnum.

The younger man kept repeating himself over and over, alternating between threatening and pleading. "You're not... Please. Please don't. No! I won't let you!" He was starting to shift on the mattress, hands clenched into tight fists.

The last thing Rick or T.C wanted to do was hold him down, but they were starting to worry that they might not have a choice. As his right arm came up in a weak swing, Rick grabbed at his wrist, trying to be as gentle as he could.

"You need to wake up, Tommy," he pleaded, seeing his friend frown and knowing that he had realized something was trapping his arm.

"Not her." The determination in Magnum's voice, the strength with which he tried to tug his arm out of Rick's grip, told the two men their friend was rapidly approaching a point where a doctor would say sedation was their only option. "Don't touch her!"

"No one is hurting anyone, Thomas. Just wake up, and you'll see for yourself."

"Ju...Juli…" Magnum was panting slightly, struggling to form the words, but it was enough. Rick and T.C. both cottoned on at the same time and Rick turned and ran, hoping T.C. could keep Magnum from hurting himself while he raced to Higgins' room. She jumped as he ran in, but he didn't waste time apologizing.

"Thomas needs you," he said hurriedly and was gratified to see her instantly move. He helped her throw the blankets off her legs. "He's more than half asleep, and he thinks you're in danger. We can't get him to wake up." He hated the pain that flashed over Higgins' face as she pulled herself off the bed.

She swayed alarmingly as her feet hit the floor and Rick had to lunge forward to stop her falling. She sucked in a deep breath as his grip pushed on a bruise but didn't say anything, just took a step and forced him to either move with her or let her fall.

They could hear T.C.'s voice when they got closer; he seemed to be pleading with Magnum. "Thomas, please, you need to stop. I can't let go until you stop." He looked over at them as Rick and Higgins walked in, Magnum's hands trapped in his. "Someone yelled something in the hallway, and he tried to grab me when he heard them."

Rick helped Higgins walk as far as the foot of the bed before Magnum started talking again.

"Juliet… Don't hurt her." His voice was still weak, but the fear in it was unmistakable.

"No one is hurting me, Magnum. You can stop."

He didn't seem to hear her, stuck in the nightmare his addled brain was creating for him. He was convinced that Higgins was in danger, and every fiber of his being was telling him to protect her.

"Higgy's right here with us, buddy. We're just waiting on you." It was starting to feel hopeless, but they had to keep trying. If a doctor were to see Magnum in this state, they would pump him full of drugs and that was the last thing their friend needed right now.

"Let her go. Ple… please." Magnum was struggling in earnest, and Higgins had a horrified look on her face. "Take me instead!" Higgins' sucked in her breath as a tear fell down her cheek at the words.

"Please listen to me, Magnum. I'm right here with you."

"I'll kill you! Don't touch her!" Magnum tried to push him upright and Rick and T.C. had to push him down hard.

"Thomas!" Her voice was probably louder than she intended, and Rick and T.C both winced, expecting the volume to trigger another violent reaction. Instead, to their shock, Magnum turned his head towards her, seeming to actually see her.

"J… Juliet?" His voice was suddenly quiet and confused and seemed to hurt Higgins to hear. Without a moment of hesitation, she moved past Rick and clambered onto the bed, wrapping one arm around Magnum's shoulders and pulling him close, ignoring the surge of pain it caused her.

"I'm here, Thomas," she said, much quieter than before, resting on hand gently on his cheek. "I'm here. I'm safe." Her voice, gentle as it was, was full of emotion, and Rick and T.C shared a sudden wide-eyed look. "Everything's okay, Thomas," Higgins was saying, the hand that wasn't supporting his weight running up and down Magnum's right arm in slow, soothing strokes. "Everyone's safe. It's you we're worried about now."

"Juliet." Magnum's voice was finally sounding like its normal self, and the three other people in the room sighed in heavy relief. He lifted his hand to her face, touching a finger to her cheek. "You've been crying."

Higgins gave a strangled laugh. "Yes. You scared me."

To the two men listening, it felt like they were being punched. They'd been pretty sure for a while now that their friend had real feelings for their Higgy. But they were just starting to realize that those feelings might be returned. On the bed, where they seemed to be wrapped in their own world, the pair were still talking, and both men strained to listen in. It suddenly seemed like the most important thing in the world to hear what they were saying to each other.

"Nothing scares you," Magnum was saying with a small, tired smile.

"You did." Higgins didn't even try to return the smile; she needed this man to know she was serious. His hand moved, fingers brushing her lips before returning to her cheek, as if assuring himself she really had said those words. When he spoke his voice was quiet, so full of exhaustion, that it hardly more than a whisper.

"Don't cry anymore, Juliet."

"Don't leave me again, Thomas. Stay here with me." Tears were building in her eyes again, the stress and fear leaving her too tired to try to hide her usually fiercely controlled emotions. She tried to blink the tears away, and Magnum blinked too, slowly, as if his eyelids were just too heavy to lift.

"I'm so tired," he whispered. The words were slow and slightly slurred, and his head shifted to the side as he spoke, as if he were trying to move closer to Higgins. She lowered her head slightly, whispering back to him.

"Go to sleep. I'll watch over you; I promise."


End file.
